TecKMagazine - Bento 2 Review

Bento 2 Review

Written by Don Lee
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Bento 2 is the latest consumer database application to help keep your personal information organized and easily accessible. Keep track of upcoming events, manage your financial records and a variety of other content. Here is what I discovered about FileMaker's Bento 2. I am new user of Bento so I had to start from the very beginning of this application to get used to it. The good news is that Bento has a few options upon application launch that can either help new users like myself get acquainted with Bento, give a little guidance to get started or to just let you jump right into the program. You can choose to set up Bento for your address book and iCal content, create a new library to store new data or begin using Bento immediately. I chose to create a new library which it then prompted my to select from a large number of template layouts. Now you can also choose to import data from an existing source file. I selected the “Digital Media” template because I have tons of photos, videos and audio files that I keep on my local drive and I always thought it would be nice to actually know what some of this content were about and other details about them. Once I selected the “Digital Media” template, I was brought to the well-designed form where I was able to enter relevant information such as the title of the content, description, choose what media type (image, video, audio or an option to add additional options), the author, publisher, date published and any additional notes you want to provide. An interesting thing I noticed is that you can preview audio and video clips from within Bento 2. After entering a few records to the database, there is a feature to create a backup of your database. Another great feature of Bento 2 is that you can import data from existing spreadsheets from popular database applications Excel or Apple Numbers. You can import that data into a new Bento 2 library or to an existing one. Just by selecting the spreadsheet you want to import, determine the sheet and the table data then set up the imported field types, then you’re all set to import your data. Three simple steps using a very straightforward interface and you’ll have your data in Bento 2 in a matter of minutes. I used a spreadsheet I keep for my finances and imported it into a Bento 2 database. It processed the data without a hitch and my data was completely intact after the import. AppleWorks databases can also be brought into Bento 2 but you will have to export that data as a text file for it to be imported in Bento 2. If you get tired of the appearance of your database, you can apply a new theme by choosing a different one from the list of pre-built themes in Bento 2. Another new feature is the ability to customize the form. Just select the field you want to change, then you can the field’s appearance such as font size and shading. You can quickly switch from full form or table view to a split screen of both windows by clicking on a button within the Bento 2 interface. Another great feature is Bento 2’s tight integration with Apple Mail. Add email messages or RSS content to your Bento library. The integration with Mail was a very smart move in that you can add additional correspondence to any library, event, etc quickly and easily. Being new to Bento 2, I was very surprised by the intuitive interface. You won’t find yourself spending tremendous amounts of time learning the program. Bento 2 is an application you can jump right in and begin entering data immediately. Now some folks might feel that you have to be a real perfectionist to enjoy a program like this but you don’t. Even if you are one of those people who forget things you did yesterday, using Bento 2 does not take a tremendous amount of time or effort. The Final Word Bento 2 from Filemaker is an inexpensive, indispensable tool that will keep your life organized without taking more out of your life. For those with hectic lifestyles that could use a little more structure to your daily schedule, then you really need to use Bento 2 to get your life back in order. FileMaker offers a demo of Bento 2 from their website so you can give the product a try before you purchase. FileMaker has also offered a special Holiday Pack as a free download for registered Bento 2 users. The free pack offers pre-designed, holiday-themed templates just in time for this year’s holiday season. Overall, Bento 2 from FileMaker is a very solid application that provides a wide array of features for almost any project. Bento 2 earns 4.5 stars out of 5. Highly Recommended. You can learn more about Bento 2 from FileMaker at the company’s official website at http://www.filemaker.com.

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